Archive for May, 2009

Chiropractors comprise the largest group of holistic medicine practitioners in America. A holistic practitioner uses not only therapies that assist the body’s own repair system (which produce minimal side effects), but he or she must also be concerned with the patients daily living activities to aid in the prevention of injuries. That’s why chiropractors often ask questions about how you live and move through our earth’s gravitational field.

Not long ago, other holistic-oriented professions have had their licensing revoked or popularity greatly diminished because of lack of valid research, exclusion from insurance plans, or shunning by the medical community. Some examples include: Acupuncture, Shiatsu (pressure applied with the finger to sensitive areas in muscles- included in my practice), Homeopathy (founded by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the father of modern medicine who founded Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia) and Naturopathy (the use of organic foods for diet and large dosages of supplements like vitamins, minerals, botanicals, etc.- also, included in my practice). On the contrary, Chiropractic has grown in popularity, but why is it still misunderstood?

Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) can be a very difficult condition to diagnose. It was not commonly recognized until the 1980’s when it was believed to be a primary muscle disorder. Later, researchers disregarded this theory when muscle biopsies of tender points were inconclusive for any tissue abnormalities.

Further studies cast doubt that FMS is an inflammatory disorder of soft tissues as neither NSAIDS nor corticosteroids had an effect on reducing the number of tender points found in FMS patients.

“How many Chiropractors does it take to change a light bulb?” Answer: “Just one, but it takes 56 visits!” This joke describes the misconception that once you go to a Chiropractor for spinal manipulations you have to keep receiving them for the rest of your life. Manipulations, although safest to be rendered by a licensed chiropractor or chiropractic neurologist, combined with spinal decompression and physical therapy, are some of the best methods of treating headache, neck and low back pain, too many manipulations may loosen and destabilize spinal bones. However, there are some people who swear by chiropractic and insist that they need ‘adjustments’ on a regular basis.